`Hang `Em High` An Eastwood Showcase

November 19, 1985|By Bill Kelley, Staff writer

During a hiatus from the CBS series Rawhide, Clint Eastwood accepted an offer from a Spanish-German-Italian film cooperative to star in a European ripoff of Akira Kurosawa`s samurai feature, Yojimbo, redone as a western. Released as A Fistful of Dollars, the 1964 film was an international smash and made Eastwood a movie star. He made a sequel, For a Few Dollars More, and one more European feature, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, before American moviemakers decided to cash in on his popularity with a vengeance western of their own. The result, 1968`s Hang `Em High (8 p.m., WCIX-Ch. 6), directed by Ted Post (who had directed some Rawhide segments), is neither as interesting nor as stylish as Eastwood`s ``spaghetti westerns,`` but it`s a great showcase for its star. The strong supporting cast includes Pat Hingle, Inger Stevens, Bruce Dern and Dennis Hopper.